What’s in a term: Snapshot vs Stable

We often get asked about the difference between the Snapshot and the Stable versions of Vivaldi, and what is recommended for different people. Here we explain what is what and which version is best for you.

Caveat: The portable installs (aka USB install), while working just fine on one machine, will not carry any passwords to another machine because the passwords are stored with OS encryption and work only on the initial machine where the stand-alone install was created.

@pesala My experience (so far!) is that going to a newer version of Vivaldi is safe.

However, going backwards is potentially a problem, especially if the structure of the base profile gets updated or changed. If a new version of Vivaldi introduces new features, new configuration options, etc. and changes the structure of the profile, there's always a risk that going back to an older version could result in something getting corrupted.

Edit: I qualified my post with "so far" because there's always a potential risk when changing from Snapshot to Stable, even at a release juncture when they are based on the same code. Snapshots can contain experimental features that may not get carried over into the next Stable release (remember Enhanced History?) so the profiles might not be entirely compatible, even at that point.

Thanks for this nice blog.
I'd like to see the feature to install Stable & Snapshot side by side on windows. I'm thinking of a "full normal installation" - nothing with standalone. I want a full integration of both version on my machine...

Caveat: The portable installs (aka USB install), while working just fine on one machine, will not carry any passwords to another machine because the passwords are stored with OS encryption and work only on the initial machine where the stand-alone install was created.

They also do not "carry over" any extensions (although the extension settings are).

@xyzzy: I have just one question about that. I reinstalled Windows last Friday. Normally, I use Snapshot versions (x64), but when I wanted to download the latest Snapshot version, Edge (don't laugh...) refused to download the latest snapshot and I had to take the stable version, which is earlier that the stable version (stable: 1.13.1008.32 - Snapshot: 1.13.1008.30). Installing the next Snapshot over a stable version is possible and safe (by saving my profile), or is it better to remove the stable version and install the Snapshot version?

@nerdebeu: I don't think anything changed between builds 1008.30 and 1008.32 other than the branding and the update channel changing from Snapshot to Stable, so the profiles should be compatible. That said, if I were you, I'd remain on the Stable channel for now; there's no advantage to switching. When the 1.14 Snapshots get released, you can then decide whether or not to switch release channels at that time.

Thanks for the explanation.
But I have a question.
Why not make the snapshot and stable to create their own profile during their installation?
With Opera, I can install Opera Dev, Opera Beta and Opera all at the same time without tweaking the installation.
Thanks. Please ignore if already answered.

I'd like to propose to add some kind of ... well, disclaimer, in want of a better word, to the download section of the snapshot blog.

Not only over the current outage of the (beta!) sync service, but all over the place there seem to be quite a lot of people who are using snapshot versions apparently without realizing that with Vivaldi, having the highest = newest release version means using a not-stable-and-functioning-certified piece of software (albeit shining brightly :) ).

Maybe a short paragraph mentioning that in snapshot releases, functions are bound not to work properly and I you don't want that, please follow the provided link to download the stable release?

Otherwise, I'm happy you're releasing snapshots and letting us more or less take part in ongoing development. In return, I don't care losing my bookmarks now and then... :)

Vivaldi Snapshot (current as soon as possible) on MacOS Sierra and High Sierra. Enough RAM.